Netflix's Ronaldinho Documentary: The Brilliant Star Who Lit the Path for Messi and Ronaldo

Long before Lionel Messi claimed his eighth Ballon d'Or trophy and before Cristiano Ronaldo transformed himself into a marketing phenomenon rivaling multinational corporations, there was Ronaldinho — and Netflix's latest three-part documentary series Ronaldinho: The One and Only powerfully argues that football fans haven't fully grasped what disappeared when his star dimmed.

The documentary series launched at the top spot on Netflix's global charts, a remarkable achievement on its own. Retrospective documentaries about footballers who retired nearly 20 years ago rarely dominate streaming platforms. Yet this one succeeded, primarily because Ronaldinho's journey — the extraordinary talent, the pandemonium, the spectacular collapse — delivers genuinely gripping entertainment beyond simple football nostalgia.

The documentary's comprehensive coverage

In contrast to the Apple TV+ Messi documentary, which tactfully bypassed certain controversial topics, The One and Only embraces the complete narrative. The meteoric rise at Barcelona. His 2002 FIFA World Cup championship. Consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year honours in 2004 and 2005. The UEFA Champions League triumph with Barcelona in 2006. Then the swift, turbulent descent fueled by widespread accounts of unprofessional conduct — the type that prematurely terminates promising careers.

Ronaldinho appears extensively throughout, joined by former teammates who experienced those legendary years alongside him. Among them is Lionel Messi, who has repeatedly acknowledged Ronaldinho as his most significant influence during his initial Barcelona first-team breakthrough. This wasn't mere politeness. Messi observed Ronaldinho's brilliance daily at close range and deliberately shaped his own playing style based on those observations.

The series showcases the iconic free-kick goal that defeated England during the 2002 World Cup — remaining one of football's most peculiar tournament moments — alongside the unforgettable El Clásico performance at the Santiago Bernabéu where he thoroughly dominated Real Madrid so spectacularly that opposing fans delivered a standing ovation. Such gestures are virtually unprecedented. Yet it occurred for Ronaldinho.

The overlooked Cristiano Ronaldo connection

Here's the fascinating detail that genuinely alters perspective: when Ronaldinho selected Barcelona instead of Manchester United, he created an opening on United's flank. Sir Alex Ferguson filled that position with an unproven 18-year-old from Sporting Lisbon. That youngster was Cristiano Ronaldo.

Without Ronaldinho choosing Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo never arrives at Old Trafford. The entire landscape of football's past two decades fundamentally changes based on a single transfer choice.

From 2003 through 2007, Ronaldinho stood as the world's premier footballer by virtually every standard. Then Cristiano Ronaldo captured his inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2008. Messi claimed it the subsequent year. And just like that, Ronaldinho became history.

He blazed intensely but briefly — which precisely explains why this documentary deserves attention. Not every remarkable career concludes with longevity milestones and Champions League victories extending into your late thirties. Occasionally the peak version of a player endures merely four years before vanishing.

That's Ronaldinho's story. And during those four years, absolutely nobody on the planet played football quite like him.